Once upon a time there lived a king in Iran. One day he asked the dervish to tell a story. Dervish began like this:
- Your Majesty, I will tell you the story of Hatim Tai, the Arabian king, who was the most generous person since the creation of the world. And if you can become as generous as him, you will truly become famous as the greatest king in the world.
“Tell me,” said the king, “but know: if I don’t like your story, you will pay with your head for casting a shadow of doubt on my generosity.”
The king said this because at the Persian court it was supposed to tell the monarch that he already had all the highest qualities that could be acquired in the world, past, present and future.
“To be like Khatam Taya,” the dervish continued as if nothing had happened (for dervishes are not so easy to intimidate), “you need to surpass all people in generosity both literally and in spirit.”
And the dervish told the following story.
One envious king, who ruled a kingdom neighboring Arabia, wanted to take possession of the wealth, villages, oases, camels and soldiers of Hatim Tai. He sent messengers to Hatim with the following message: “You must voluntarily surrender to me, otherwise I will go to war against you and destroy your entire kingdom, and I will take you prisoner.” When the messengers conveyed this warning, Hatim Tai's advisers suggested that he prepare for war.
“All your subjects, both men and women, all who are able to hold weapons in their hands, are ready to fight the enemy and, if necessary, lay down their heads on the battlefield for their beloved king,” they said.
But Hatim, to everyone’s surprise, answered like this:
“I no longer wish to place the burden of my power on you and shed your blood for my sake.” I’d rather give up the throne to him, because it’s not right for a generous person to sacrifice even one human life for himself. If you voluntarily surrender to his mercy, he will be content to make you his subjects and impose a moderate tribute, but you will save your lives and property. But if you resist him, in case of victory, according to the laws of war, he will have the right to exterminate all of you or turn you into his slaves.
Having said this, Hatim Tay took off his royal clothes and, taking with him only a strong staff, set off. Having reached the nearby mountains, he chose a cave there and plunged into contemplation. Many Arabians glorified the former ruler for his great sacrifice, for he did not spare either his wealth or his throne to save them. But many, and especially those who craved glory on the battlefield, were very dissatisfied.
- How do we know that he is not an ordinary coward?! - they exclaimed in their hearts.
Others, not so brave, echoed them:
“Yes, of course, he was saving first of all his own life and left us to the mercy of fate, because what can you expect from a foreign king, who, moreover, is so treacherous and cruel that he did not spare even his closest neighbors?
There were also those who, not knowing what to believe, simply remained silent, waiting for time to pronounce its verdict. Meanwhile, the treacherous king invaded the possessions of Hatim Tai and, without encountering resistance on his way, captured his entire kingdom. Rejoicing at such an easy victory, he did not increase the taxes that Hatim Tai had levied in his time for ruling the people and defending justice.
So, it would seem that this king achieved everything he wanted: he added a new kingdom to his possessions, satisfied his greed - and yet he did not find peace. His spies continually reported to him that the people said that he owed his victory only to the generosity of Hatim Tai. And then one day, unable to contain his anger any longer, he exclaimed:
“I will not become the true master of this country until I capture Hatim Tai himself.” As long as he is alive, I will not be able to win the hearts of these people. After all, they only recognize me as their master for show.
Immediately, a royal decree was announced throughout the country that the person who delivered Hatim Tai to the palace would receive five thousand gold as a reward. Hatim Tai at this time was still in his hiding place and, of course, did not suspect anything. Once, sitting in front of his cave, he heard, hidden by thickets, a conversation between an old woodcutter and his wife.
“Darling,” said the woodcutter, “I am much older than you, and if I die soon, you will be left alone with our little children.” Now, if we managed to catch Hatim Tai, for whom the new ruler promises five thousand gold, your future and the future of our children would be secured.
- Shame on you! “- the woman answered indignantly, “it’s better for me and my children to die of starvation than to stain myself with the blood of the most generous man in the world, who sacrificed everything he had for us.”
“I understand you perfectly, but every person thinks first of all about his own interests, and I have to take care of my family.” And then, more and more people every day are inclined to think that Hatim simply chickened out. Maybe over time they will look for all sorts of arguments to justify him, but now...
“It was only because of greed for money that you decided that Hatim was a coward.” More smart guys like you, and it will turn out that his life had no meaning at all.
Then Hatim came out of his hiding place and, appearing before the astonished spouses, said, turning to the woodcutter:
-I am Hatim Tai. Take me to the ruler and demand from him the promised reward.
His words made such a strong impression on the old man that he, ashamed of his behavior, began to cry and said:
- No, O great Hatim, I cannot do this.
“If you don’t listen to me, I will go to the king myself and tell him that you sheltered me.” Then you will be executed for treason.
Meanwhile, people looking for the fugitive king in the mountains heard their argument and approached them. Realizing that in front of them was none other than Hatim Tai himself, they grabbed him and took him to the ruler. Behind everyone trailed the unfortunate woodcutter. Appearing before the king, each of the crowd, trying to outshout the others, declared that it was he who was the first to capture Hatim. The king, not understanding anything, looked first at one, then at the other, not knowing what to do. Then Hatim asked permission to speak and said:
- O king, if you want to resolve this matter fairly, then listen to me. Only that old man deserves a reward, not these people. - And Hatim pointed to the woodcutter standing to the side. “Give him the promised five thousand and do with me as you wish.”
Then the woodcutter came forward and told the king about how Hatim offered himself as a sacrifice to save his family. The king was so amazed by the story he heard that he immediately returned his throne to Hatim, and he himself returned back to his kingdom and took the army with him.
Dervish finished his story and fell silent.
- Great story, dervish! - exclaimed the Iranian king, forgetting about his threat. “You can benefit from a story like this.” But for you it is useless in any case, because you expect nothing from this life and do not own anything. Me is another matter. I am a king and I am rich. The Arabian rulers, who eat boiled lizards, cannot compare with the Persians when it comes to true generosity. A happy thought struck me, but let’s not waste time on chatter, let’s get down to business!
And the king immediately ordered to call outstanding architects and builders; when they appeared before him, kneeling, he ordered them to build a palace with forty windows in the wide city square, so that it would house a huge treasury for gold coins. After some time, such a palace was built. The king ordered the treasury located in it to be filled with gold coins. From all over the country, many people, camels and elephants were driven to the capital, who transported gold from the old treasury to the new one for several months. Finally, when the work was completed, the heralds announced the royal decree: “Listen, everyone! By the will of the king of kings, the fountain of generosity, a palace with forty windows was built. From this day on, His Majesty will personally distribute gold through these windows to all those in need. Hurry everyone to the palace!”
So, of course, countless crowds of people flowed to the palace. Day after day, the king appeared at one of the forty windows and presented each petitioner with a gold coin. And then one day, while distributing alms, the king drew attention to one dervish, who every day came to the window, received his gold coin and left. At first, the monarch decided that the dervish was taking gold for some poor man who was not able to come for alms himself. Then, seeing him again, he thought: “Perhaps he is following the dervish principle of secret generosity and giving gold to others.” And so every day, seeing the dervish, he came up with some excuse for him. But when the dervish came for the forty-first time, the king’s patience came to an end. Grabbing his hand, the monarch shouted in terrible anger:
- Impudent nonentity! You have been coming here for forty days, but you have never bowed to me, not even uttered a single word of gratitude. If only a smile would illuminate your lean face one day. So, are you saving this money or lending it on interest? You are only disgracing the high reputation of the patched robe!
As soon as the king fell silent, the dervish took from his sleeve forty gold coins, which he had received in forty days, and, throwing them on the ground, said:
- Know, O king of Iran, that generosity is only truly generosity when the one who shows it observes three conditions. The first condition is to give without thinking about your generosity. The second condition is to be patient. And thirdly, do not harbor suspicions in your soul.
This king never became truly generous. Generosity for him was associated with his own ideas about “generosity”, and he strived for it only because he wanted to become famous among people.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru